Curry fast learner, fast pursuer

One of the few bright spots in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs was the play of outside linebacker Aaron Curry. Curry, a No. 4 overall pick in 2009, was acquired from Seattle two weeks ago for late draft picks in 2012 and 2013.

“I’ve seen tremendous progress in him,” Raiders coach Hue Jackson said. “I think this guy’s been one of the brighter spots on our defense. He’s done a good job. He brings an energy, a passion. He’s making plays. He’s around the ball, and I think he loves playing football.”

Curry first said his job here was just to run around and make plays. But he did spend a lot of time watching film of the Chiefs last week.

“First game it was more of a, hey, I can play football type thing,” Curry said. “Second game was more, I want this defense to be unique. I want it be special. I want to be part of it. I just tried to gain the trust of my teammates. So I did a lot of studying to make sure that I didn’t want to be the one to let anybody down.”

In an interesting twist, Curry said the freedom the Raiders have given him on the field means he is studying film more than he ever did with the Seahawks.

“Because my responsibility is simple,” Curry said. “There’s not a lot to it. Now I’m able to study the offense and I’m picking up stuff from people on film that I had never picked up before. Because my job has become that much more simple.”

While with the Seahawks, Curry was forced to study his team’s defense more than the opponents’ offense.

“I played a lot of positions and wanted to perfect he defense that we played,” he said. “Now that I’m in a role where there’s not too much thinking, it’s not hard, I’m picking up tendencies, I mean, little small stuff, that I’m seeing on film. One of the O-linemen from Cleveland, they gave it up every play, most of the time, I’d say about 70 percent of the time, whether it was run or pass. They had no clue they were doing it, but I figured it out from just watching the film.”

Curry doesn’t want to look back too much on his frustrating days in Seattle, where he was benched early this season, and by no means is he not taking reponsibility for things not working out there.

“This game of football it got snatched from me for about three weeks. … I’m not saying it got snatched, I gave it away,” Curry said. “For coach Jackson and (defensive coordinator) Chuck (Bresnahan) to give me a chance, it’s like, never again. Never again will I give this game away nor let it be taken away from me.

“It’s a huge appreciation for coach Jackson taking the shot and having the confidence that he had. There’s a difference between, `Hey, let’s give him a try, see if he can fit in and weed him in or weed him out’, and come in on day one and the first thing the coach says is, we’re starting you on Sunday. We’re calling you out of the tunnel because I believe in you and know you can play football and know you’re a great football player and I’m going to make you a great football player. There’s a difference between that and a coach saying, all right, you got two years, don’t make me look bad. It’s a complete different level of confidence that I’ve never, I’ve seen it from a person.”